Buxton received a priority post package and was instructed to act as a secret shopper for a wire transfer service. He was instructed to deposit a cheque for $2,500 and use $2,200 to purchase a Moneygram. Buxton was told he could keep the remaining $300 for testing the service.

"Now I'll be honest, I did sit there for a minute because I was in the parking lot right next to my bank machine," he said. "It was awful tempting."

But, Buxton recognized that address on the cheque lacked a postal code. After investigating further, he found the address listed was in fact false, prompting him to turn the cheque over to the police.

"I do feel like a bit of a sucker in that the shiny lure went flashing by," he said. "But to use a fishing analogy, I didn't bite."

Consumers should report suspicious cheques to Phonebusters, an anti-fraud call centre run by the Ontario Provincial Police and the RCMP.